Monthly Wrap-Up, February Edition

How was the month of February? In one word: BLECH. Even though it’s my birth-month, it’s probably the one month of the year that just sucks the most for me… Yeah, yeah, winter blues and blah blah, I know WHY it sucks, but that doesn’t change the fact that IT DOES.

Another word for the month would be: TIRED. Oh, so very, very tired.

I took pro-active steps to change that, and things are on a much better track now (despite the derailment by our stomach ebola), so, March? Here’s to you!

But in the meantime… February:

1. Writing: completely off track. Was scrapped in the name of sleep. And a good trade it was, too!

2. Running: the goal was twice a week. Once again, I made it twice in the month. However, I’d already given myself a pass on the month, so, eh. This month? With improving weather and a baby who actually sleeps? I’m hoping to double that number! (Hey, it’s something, right?)

3. Reading: January – 25 ; February – 33 (!!!) … All I can say to this is, before counting this up, I thought I’d been reading a bit less. Except, that’s probably just this past week, so, huh. Yeah. MARCH will be less. February definitely isn’t. The mix this time is even worse – I did a search at the eNYPL for any baby sleep guides on ebook format the carried (um, none) and instead got a huuuuuuge list of… wait for it… Harlequin Romance novels with “baby” in the title. NOT EXACTLY THE SAME THING. But? Did I read them? Indeed. I did. As well as a good smattering of YA Fiction, adult fiction, and only one “good” book… But this book? Was truly good: Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture by Peggy Orenstein (if, you know, you’re a parent and/or like reading about social anthropology type things). LOVED IT.

4. Crafting: Argh. MAJOR FAIL here. I have quite a few half-finished projects, and NONE are complete. Sure, an unexpected printer death didn’t help, but… grrrr…

5. Appreciating: It’s harder to see the small moments of bliss in the month of misery, but still, I did manage to find some, and loved them that much more. Meeka learning to climb the stairs of the slide in the playroom all by herself (HOLD ME!) and beaming with pride? Meeka insisting on only eating food she can feed herself, which she is getting really good at… well, the picking it up, putting it in her mouth, chewing part? but not so much the actual swallowing part? so she ends up hoarding pieces of tofu and peas in her cheeks like a little chipmunk, making her already adorably kissable cheeks that much cuter? yeah. that. The husband walking up behind me and giving me a quick shoulder massage just because. Or grabbing me close to snuggle while I try to sleep and he continues to study. Meeka pouncing on him as he sleeps in the morning when I put her on the bed with him. Meeka and Mooji staring at each other over her highchair tray, until she picks up a piece of her food to feed to him. All these and more… Yes, these are moments I can appreciate (and do!)

I had read a blurb about the Cinderella Ate My Daughter book and remember thinking, “that seems like a good read.” I’ll def. try to check it out soon.

And I think a lot of us are still wiping away the funk of February (although I chalk it all up to the funk of winter). Don’t beat yourself up about running though. It is hard to keep that up in the winter!